Vashti watched as her naked Germanic warrior joined the dance.

Her breath caught in her throat at the beauty of the dance... the rhythm of the steps, the thrusts of the spears, syncopated with the beat of the ancestral drum.

Such magnificence, she thought, watching the ripple of muscle in thigh and shoulder. The torchlight gleamed on the oiled flesh, and the sight of bodies, bereft of concealing barriers, was both awe-inspiring and humbling.

"Thus were we meant to be," she murmured softly. "The perfection of our bodies dedicated to the gods... and the imperfections of our souls still hidden within."

A small tear teetered at the corner of her eye, and finally fell, trailing down her cheek.

"So beautiful, so beautiful...."